It's La Junta vs. Bayfield for Class 2A state football title

Wednesday

Nov 22, 2017 at 5:25 PM

Ken Hamrick

It's the state championship game week for the second straight year for the fourth-ranked La Junta High School football team. The Tigers will be looking to make it back-to-back titles as they will play at third-ranked Bayfield on Saturday.

LJ coach Clint Buderus said that the Wolverines are more than deserving to be in the championship game.

"They're really good and really big and really fast," Buderus said. "They're a good football team and there's a reason they're here. They haven't given up any points in the playoffs and they're the real deal."

The Wolverines have a very versatile offense and are a threat in both the running and passing games.

"They're the exact same thing they were a year ago," Buderus said. "They're a lot of double slot, some trips and doubles. They mix it up. They like to run the football, but they're really dangerous at the receiver spots. Their quarterback is a good kid and they're very, very talented and they're pretty good up front."

Bayfield also has a formidable defense.

"They're a 5-2 and they'll walk a safety down into the box and make it a 5-3," Buderus said. "It's pretty simple. They run to the football and fly around and they're really good on D."

Kickoff at Wolverine Country Stadium is at 1 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults and $7 for students. Only CHSAA passes will be honored.

About La Junta

The Tigers come into this game with 11 wins and only one loss. They won the Tri-Peaks League with a 5-0 record.

On offense, they average 31.3 points and 309.7 yards per game.

La Junta continues to be led by quarterback Jon Nuschy, who has run for 1,430 yards on 199 carries and he has completed 46 of 85 passes for 619 yards. He has run for 22 touchdowns and has thrown for eight more.

Also in the running attack are Wyatt Buhr with 898 yards on 110 carries and 10 touchdowns and Zach Archuleta with 480 yards on 73 carries and seven touchdowns.

Matthew Espinioza continues to lead in receiving with 23 catches for 313 yards.

On defense, La Junta allows 8.1 points per game. It has four shutouts on the season including two in the playoffs.

About Bayfield

The Wolverines are undefeated in 12 games and they also won the Intermountain League with five wins and no losses.

Bayfield averages 39.3 points and 412.3 yards per game.

The Wolverines are led by quarterback Hayden Farmer, who has completed 98 of 164 passes for 1,865 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The running game is paced by Carl Heide with 845 yards on 94 carries and nine touchdowns. Other running threats include Hunter Killough with 593 yards on 96 carries and eight touchdowns, David Hawkins with 493 yards on 70 carries and five touchdowns, Dylan Hilliker with 344 on 29 carries and five touchdowns and Keyon Prior with 244 yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns.

The top receiver is Dax Snooks with 32 catches for 588 yards and 13 touchdowns. Carl Heide has 19 for 344 and one touchdown, Dawson Heide has 12 for 349 and three touchdowns, Prior has 15 for 245 and four touchdowns and Killough has 10 for 231 and five touchdowns.

Defensively, the Wolverines allow 4.1 points per game. They also have eight shutouts including all three of their playoff games.

The series

This will be the third straight year the teams have met, with all three games in the playoffs. The last two games were semifinals with Bayfield winning 47-7 on its home field in 2015 and La Junta won 14-13 last year at Tiger Stadium.

"They're a good outfit and you have to play well against them," Buderus said. "They've been here before and they know what it's all about and it's at their place. So we have to play dang good."

"We did a good job," Buderus said. "We travel well and we started fast. We put up some points and played great D. We gave up only five first downs in the game. We're going to have to be extra special this week to go down to Bayfield and do what we need to do."

Bayfield defeated Resurrection Christian 21-0 in Greeley.

Second straight championship game

This will be the third time in which La Junta will play in back-to-back state championship games.

The first time was in the 1920s. In 1924, the Tigers lost at home to Greeley (now Greeley Central) 35-7 and in 1925, they defeated Eaton 26-0 on the road.

The second time marked the only time La Junta has won consecutive championships. In 1947, it defeated Alamosa at home 26-0 and in 1948, it won at Alamosa 34-14.

This will be the ninth time La Junta has played in a state championship game. Its record in title games is 6-2.

Eleven wins this season

This marks the fourth time in school history in which La Junta has won at least 11 games in a season. In 1951, the Tigers won 12 games, two years ago, they won 11 and last year, they won 13.

Injury report

Buderus reports no injuries this week.

"We're healthy," Buderus said.

On the air

The game will be broadcast on the radio by KLBJ (1400 AM) and online at www.network1sports.com. Pat McGee will do play-by-play and Chas Phillips will be on color.

It will also be webcast by NFHSNetwork. See Tuesday's paper for technical requirements and directions to receive the game.

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